The Republic of Siena - Rome's True Son
by redmonkey435
Summary: A single province state in 1144 begins to rise up and face it's neighbors in the divided peninsula known as Italy. Will Siena unite the entirety of Italy and if or when it does, how long will it remain worthy to be a successor to the Romans?
1. The Republic's Rise (1444-1463)

** So yeah, instead of Pokemon, I'm writing up an AAR for an in-progress game of Europa Universalis 4 of Seina, a country I had never heard of before I started playing. To answer the question of why I'm on FF instead of Paradox's forums, it's because I don't like making posts on forums excluding a certain imageboard that shall not be named. Also, I didn't get a lot of screenshots during the early years so anything of the forums would feel empty.**

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Siena, like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled in the time of the Etruscans (c. 900–400 BC) when it was inhabited by a tribe called the Saina. The Etruscans were an advanced people who changed the face of central Italy through their use of irrigation to reclaim previously unfarmable land, and their custom of building their settlements in well-defended hill forts. A Roman town called _Saena Julia _was founded at the site in the time of the Emperor Augustus. The first document mentioning it dates from AD 70. Some archaeologist assert that Siena was controlled for a period by a Gaulish tribe called the Senones.

The Roman origin accounts for the town's emblem, a she-wolf suckling the infants Romulus and Remus. According to legend, Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, the two sons of Remus, who was in turn the brother of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. Statues and other artwork depicting a she-wolf suckling the young twins Romulus and Remus can be seen all over the city of Siena. Other etymologies derive the name from the Etruscan family name _Saina_, the Roman family name _Saenii_, or the Latin word _senex _"old" or its derived form _seneo _"to be old".

Siena did not prosper under Roman rule. It was not sited near any major roads and lacked opportunities for trade. Its insular status meant that Christianity did not penetrate until the 4th century AD, and it was not until the Lombards invaded Siena and the surrounding territory that it knew prosperity. After the Lombard occupation, the old Roman roads of Via Aurelia and the Via Cassia passed through areas exposed to Byzantine raids, so the Lombards rerouted much of their trade between the Lombards' northern possessions and Rome along a more secure road through Siena. Siena prospered as a trading post, and the constant streams of pilgrims passing to and from Rome provided a valuable source of income in the centuries to come.

The oldest aristocratic families in Siena date their line to the Lombards' surrender in 774 to Charlemagne. At this point, the city was inundated with a swarm of Frankish overseers who married into the existing Sienese nobility and left a legacy that can be seen in the abbeys they founded throughout Sienese territory. Feudal power waned however, and by the death of Countess Matilda in 1115, the border territory of the Mark of Tuscia which had been under the control of her family, the Canossa, broke up into several autonomous regions. This ultimately resulted in the creation of the Republic of Siena. (1)

Starting in the early 1440s, the merchants of Siena began to plot to expand their markets and establish dominance over the Italian peninsula and with it, the whole of the Mediterranean. Signing an alliance of mutual defense with the Duchy of Ferrara and the Kngdom of Urbinob in 1444, the doge of Seina ordered the forging of documents that laid claim to the whole of Tuscany to north. Once these were presented to the Holy Roman Empire, the Doge allowed the anger of the Tuscans to build and simmer while he and the nobles made the final preparations in training troops and hiring mercenaries for a army numbering roughly eight thousand men. These men, along with the six thousand provided by Ferrara and Urbino, would be enough to deal with the Tuscan force of eight thousand.

Finally, the doge struck. Sending men dressed in the garbs of the men who swore fealty to the Tuscan nobility, he ordered an attack on the house of a minor Sienese merchant who had been quite outspoken against the doge and his allies' policies. Ensuring that there were witnesses to the beheading of the merchant and his family along with the subsequent burning of their house and property, the doge used this pretense to launch an invasion, known as the First War of Italy, in February of 1445 that overwhelmed the Tuscan forces. Within two weeks, both the cities of Firenze and Pisa were under siege and by the end of October, both had surrendered. By securing the complete annexation of Tuscany, the doge had also secured his reelection and began using his connections in the port of Pisa to dominate shipping there from states such as Genoa and Venice and the recently Austrian turned city of Antwerpen in the former Kingdom of Burgundy. With these moves, the rise of Siena to the title of merchant republic and beyond began.

In 1446, the tragic death of the doge surprised the citizens of Siena, however, from the tragedy came a momentous opportunity for his successor. In the preceding years before, the growing influence of the corrupt clergy was to be found throughout all of the fighting Italian states, gathering power and riches for itself. In the eyes of the common people, the Church had become an entity poisoned by the devil's temptations and earthly pleasures and so it found no sympathy from the people when the doge made allegations that the Hungarian-controlled pope had ordered the murder of their respected leader in jealousy of the state's new found wealth and power which, while meager when compared to Castile or England, now rivaled that of Venice or Aragon.

With these claims, it was simple to organize an invasion of Rome in 1448 after their troops had recovered from what few casualties they had endured. While Urbino found the military action heretical and Aragon attempted to intervene along with its vassal the Kingdom of Naples, the republic had found in 1447 an ally in the Kingdom of Castile. The support from the Spaniards easily exceeded that lost from Urbino's withdrawal from what some were soon to call the Latin Triple Alliance. With their strike on mainland Aragon, Siena and Ferrara, along with Ferrara's ally Modena, were able to coordinate and first occupy the entire Papacy, including its holdings to the northeast of Firenze (modern-day Florence) and it's enclave within the Kingdom of France thanks to the French granting them military access, before moving to annex the Neapolitan lands to Siena, culminating in the Battle of Calabria where a combined Ferraresi-Sienese force of thirteen thousand forced the last three thousand fighting men of Naples to surrender, effectively ending the Second War for Italy.

With the 1450 Treaty of Paris, Castile annexed the Aragonian provinces of Alicante, Pirineo, and even the crown jewel, Aragón. With the sole exception of the Vatican itself which was stripped of most of its gold and wealth so as to render the Church a apostolic state, Siena annexed the entire Papacy state along with the entire Kingdom of Naples. This left the island of Sicily, an Aragonian holding, in a precarious position as unmarked Sienese fleets began to regularly raid the coastal villages while ironically patrolling the surrounding waters for any pirates that may prey on trade routes of the Mediterranean that Siena was quickly exerting a monopoly on.

While the doge waited for the period of required non-aggresion, a laughable idea given the previously mentioned piracy that was only enforced due to the possible riots that would ensue if the truth was broken, with Aragon to expire, he began to hire men as explorers to map the western coast of Africa and as colonists to establish Sienese holdings over the land. However, the wild land of Africa was hostile and the Sienese arrogant, and soon, natives rose up and destroyed several early attempts to civilize the land. To try saving face, the next colonization effort went with an armed escort of five thousand men-at-arm, two thousand cavalry, and an additional two mercenaries who at the first sign of trouble led a so-called "subjugation" campaign that amounted to genocide and forced relocation of the indigenous populations. Excluding lands held by the savages of Morocco and Mali, by the 1460s, the coastlines of Africa west of the prime meridian and Cape Verde had been colonized with the province of Rio De Oro turning into a vibrant outpost for future expansion of the Sienese republic.

However, this rapid colonization effort caused the materialization of two crucial issues. The first was that the colonies, having been more or less sponsored by the same nobles who provided the majority of the contents in the nation's coffers, were becoming an incredible economic burden and soon, inflation set in as the government was forced to take loans and cuts were made to the ground forces. The second involved the Moroccan Sultanate's perception of the expansion as an attempt by the republic to conquer the whole of Morocco. While the doge would have loved to wipe the map of any traces of the Muslim faith, he neither had the financial and emotional support to justify a war so when the Sultan declared war in 1454, the Armata d'Africa (Army of Africa) had slipped into a state of underfunded and morale-deprived soldiers.

The War of Moroccan Aggression was the deadliest in terms of lives lost for the republic since it first began its power-plays. As Castile faced the forces of Granada which had answered Morocco's call to arms and aided in the blockading of Tunis and Morocco, Siena was left alone to face the forces of the barbaric forces of the Sultan. In the Twin Battle of Rio De Oro and Ifni, the republic emerged victorious at the heavy cost of roughly five thousand five hundred men of the original eight thousand man force while the Moroccans incurred an estimated eight thousand casualties of the original force of ten thousand. In the end, it took the movement of the veteran former Armata d'Italia (Army of Italy), now rebranded the Escerito Relief (Relief Army) and totaling ten thousand men, to the lands of Africa that were now considered Nuovo Siena (New Siena) to force the defenders of Ifni to surrender and the Moroccans to enter peace talks.

When the war was brought to an end in 1457, the Moroccans relinquished occupied Ifni. However, the general public reaction was that the new land, which would take decades to convert from heretical beliefs, did not bring justice to the men lost. In the end, the republic made its voice heard in the next elections, replacing their leader with a new star on the field. The new doge, Giustino Labriola, had been popular with the common people of Siena as a bureaucrat for enacting several local reforms that softened the blow inflation had brought to the economy of the republic. Giustino would now lead the republic as the new decade set in and they faced Aragon a second time.

While the popular belief was that Siena would be the cause of the next conflict with Aragon, it proved to be disagreements between Castile and Aragon over the provinces that Castile had previously annexed. When the call came from Castile, the people responded with cries of support as their beloved ally in the Latin Triple Alliance (though by this point Ferrara was a vassal of Siena and thus was an ally simply due to owing allegiance to the republic) came under attack from Aragon and the Italian state of Savoy. Thus began the Third War for Italy or as the people called it, the Quiet War due to the Sienese fighting force known as the Armata d'Italia that had replaced the Escerito Relief after it had become the standing force in Africa only occupying the islands of Sicily and Sardinia and facing only a small force of a thousand Aragonians in Palermo.

In the end, Aragon and Savoy were defeated easily, though Savoy was let off relatively easy with their merchants being banned from any ports Siena exerted power over. On the other hand, Aragon was effectively neutered as a nation as it was forced to relinquish any claims to Castilian land and release Sicily and Sardinia to Siena. That was how 1463, the Year of Triumphant, began and the God's favor for Siena only grew as its coffers swelled from trade and Nuovo Siena began to turn a profit. By May, the republic was prepared to face Venice and Genoa for complete control of the western Mediterranean and so, on March 22th, Doge Labriola issued the Dottrina Repubblica (Republic Doctrine) which stated that, "All states within the Italian peninsula and islands that claim to be the rightful ruler of the land of Italy shall be dealt a harsh blow by the Republic. From this day forth, our grand republic shall stand as the guardian of the Italian people and as the successor to both the Kingdom of Italy and to the Roman Republic. From this day forward, we shall be known as the Grande Mercante Repubblica di Siena (Grand Merchant Republic of Siena) and as the one true law of the Mediterranean."

With that declaration, Labriola made clear his nation's intents towards all others. To further emphasis his words, the republic proceeded with the peaceful annexation of Modena, the signing of an alliance with the Kingdom of England, and its exit from the Holy Roman Empire. What had once been the Latin Triple Alliance between the republic, Ferrara, and Urbino had over the years fully shifted to a world shaking power bloc known as the Alliance of the Seas between Castile, England, and the republic due to each nation's control of their regional waters thanks to their relatively large navies. While the next few years would be quiet in terms of wars as the country intergrated Modena into Sienese society, the nations that bordered the Alps quivered in fear as their southern brethren began to make preparations for war with Austria and the HRE for control of the Alps.

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** (1)Everything before that little one there is ripped from Wikipedia. I decided I wanted some information about Siena to be included so that you all had some idea of who the hell I'm playing as.**

** So yeah, I had a crazy time with this little one province starting state. Thank god for mercenaries as well because that's the only way to get as many men as you need to beat down Tuscany even if you have help from the guys I included.**

** If anyone else has played EU4 and is wondering if I'm going make the actual country known as Italy, I have an answer. **_**No.**_** That's the goal of all players who play an Italian state in any game, including me usally. I decided to do something different since Siena starts as a Administrative Republic and has a chance to become a Merchant Republic. Basically, the Republic Doctrine (the Merchant Republic decision) and my breaking ties with the HRE (Which I did a lot sooner than I wrote, it just felt like it fit better with the declaration) was how I told all the other mini-Italies to fuck off and that I would do things my way. Then again, given my state as a African colony developer this early, I'm pretty sure I'm already breaking the tradition of most Italian state players.**


	2. The Alps and the Seas (1463-1465)

After the republic's issuing of the Dottrina Repubblica in 1463, the fleets began to experience a massive build up as Labriola's future plans called for a naval blockading of the Mediterranean Sea. Within five years, the republic planned to partially if not fully annex the Republics of Venice and Genoa, a move that would certainly bring the ire of Austria and with it, the Holy Roman Empire. To prepare for and hopefully prevent such a conflict, Laribola under the guise of protecting trade ordered the construction of twenty-two new barques, a style of light ship originally used for commerce but had been used as military vessels since the great nations of the world had realized the true potential of the swift sails. Within two years, the Sienese navy would nearly double in size, from a previous thirty vessels of many varieties to one of fifty-two that was dominated speedy and lightly armed patrol ships with a few early carracks at the head of the fleets.

As 1463 continued, the republic proceeded to petition the Kingdom of Portugal in the creation of a joint defense alliance. Portugal, Castile's western neighbor and ally, had bore witness to the rise of the republic with quiet admiration throughout the preceding years and had grown to enjoy the free protection Sienese fleets had given their merchants against pirates when their own navy was entangled elsewhere. For Siena, Portugal looked to be a strong regional naval force and could prove crucial to the future war efforts against the Austrians.

However, one dark note of the year was the demand by the Austrian-led HRE in August for the republic to release the province of Modena under the false pretense of the annexation being unlawful. Labriola was confidant that the republic's claims were lawful due the recognition by England and Castile of the republic's declarations and thus he refused to capitulate to the enemy. This gave Austria a viable excuse for hostilities if it chose to pursue conflict with Siena and to even bring the other member states of the Empire against the republic. To further combat the possibility of an early war, Labriola quickly joined a coalition against Austria and signed an alliance with the Kingdom of Hungary, Austria's eastern neighbor, as a way to put pressure against the Emperor to refuse the call to war and to serve as a magnet against the Emperor's armies if war became unavoidable.

In 1464, the republic began to form diplomatic ties with Kingdom of Scotland. It was hoped that good relations between the two nations would help ease the tension between Scotland and Siena's ally England and even perhaps an alliance between all three. However, attention on these dealings were drawn away by a scandal involving the republic's relations with an old enemy, Morocco. The Morocco had apparently thrown out a minor diplomat during dealings with their merchants and traders, which caused the diplomat's well-connected father to raise concerns that the Moroccans would soon seek war. For the time, Labriola and his council ignored the man, confidant that the Moroccans simply sought validation to call allies and that the thirteen thousand troops stationed on their shared border with Morocco would deter any thoughts of reconquest.

Sadly, news of an uprising by Sicilians nationalists were too much for the aged Labriola who died of a heart attack on March 10 at age 50. He had been visiting his son, a prominent merchant like his father, in Firenze and had been pulled away from playing with his young grandchildren to receive. This would cause the Labriola family to resent all who claimed to be Sicilian and lead to harsh crackdowns on all nationalistic groups of Sicily once the revolt was brutally ended.

As men marched from Siena's northern borders to Sicily, the elections for a new doge began and would be deeply divided. In the end, two candidates, Alessio Borgia and Francesco di Stefano, emerged as clear favorites to win. Borgia, a diplomat by trade, had been a powerful figure in Sienese foreign and domestic affairs, having negotiated numerous trade agreements that favored Sienese merchants and had even made the terms for the alliance with Portugal. Stefano, on the other hand, was a commander of war, having led the troops in Africa against the native population and had proven the savior of the men at the Twin Battle of Rio Di Oro and Ifni when his conquistador commander had been killed by an arrow during a cavalry charge. While some animosity was held for the forty-nine year old due to his sacrifice of a thousand men to save the rest of the remaining Armata d'Africa, the nobles and merchants of the republic knew Stefano would hold strong to the ideals Labriola had instilled in the young nation-state and would stand resolute against Austrian aggression and so, the Stefano family rose to prominence over Siena.

The day he was ushered into office, Stefano wasted no time in taking a horse and riding to head the army of twelve thousand infantry and a thousand cavalry that was soon to face the rebel army of eleven thousand in Palermo. However, while the Armata d'Italia rode to Palermo, another rebel army of eight thousand emerged, this time in Modena. Thus began the Problemi d'Italia (Troubles of Italy), a period of time where Siena was wrecked with revolts against the rightful rule of the republic as displaced monarchs smelled weakness with the great Labriola's death. To end this discord, Stefano's forces met the rebels of Sicily on May 18th in the Battle of the Bridge, named due to the bridge at the center of field that the armies fought for control over until May 24th. That day, the rebel commander was captured thanks to a masterful false retreat by Stefano that drew the enemy into a pincer by the Sienese forces, much like Hannibal had done to the Roman consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro at the Battle of Cannae during the Second Punic War. However, unlike Cannae, this was a true game destroyer as Stefano ordered the hanging of the commander and the beheading of the fifty men captured with him, with their bodies to be put on display outside the walls of Palermo. The remaining seven thousands rebels, seeing the brutality of Stefano and realizing that they would die if they did not surrender, quickly laid their arms and accepted the doge's terms.

With this, the Palermo insurrection was put down and Stefano moved back to the northern province of Modena to deal with the rebel force there. However, he stopped back in Siena long enough to settle a battle, not of swords and horses, but of wills and policy. Some of the merchants within the republic had grown concerned with the new regime's continued mercantilism, as they believed free trade would bring about greater wealth for the whole of the republic's people. While no master of the coin himself, Stefano took the side of the old order for he saw that the government's management of the trade routes and colonies was quickly turning a profit. To prevent the free traders from breaking the government's control in secret, he had them fined and placed under watch by men loyal to the Stefano family.

Moving on from Siena, Stefano and his troops, back at their original number of thirteen thousand before the two thousand causalities incurred during the Palermo insurrection, arrived on July 19th to lift the siege of Modena by the eight thousand strong rebel army. Finally, on the 30th, the rebel forces were fully routed after the rebel commander was killed by an infected wound caused during the attempted siege. With that, the Problemi d'Italia ended and the Armata d'Stefano (Army of Stefano), renamed in honor of the brilliant generalship and governance of the doge, returned to Siena to rest and recover.

The rest of 1464 turned out to be rather uneventful as Siena was not called to war at anytime and so she simply watched as her ally Hungary waged against the Kingdom of Bosnia. In December, the merchants of Sardinia were granted citizenship and the vote while Palermo was forced to wait till the next year as a slight for rebelling against the republic. Modena was not worried for due to being a longs way off from statehood. The final event to grace Siena was a change for Stefano. A theologian from Firenze named Constantino was hired as an administrator. This was viewed generally as a way to apologize to the Papacy for the Second War for Italy though whether or not the message was received was left unclear due to no response.

With the arrival of 1465 came the beginning of the annexation of Ferrara. The ally turned vassal state had grown prosperous under the protection of Siena and had come to love and envy its protector. In a few decades, visitors to Ferrara would think they were in Siena proper.

However, not all new things are good as Aragon looked to prove. On January 2nd, the old king died of sudden illness and his son, Joan the Third de Trastamara, looked to be a worthy successor to his father. Both Castile and Siena grew worried as the young king appeared to be taking steps to rearm his nation. If a surprise attack came from their old adversary, they could only hope Portugal would abandon its alliance with Aragon and take the side of Siena and Castile.

This change in rulers was accompanied by the sounds of revolution in Mantua. Since the death of their previous king, the tiny country had been ruled by a regency council as the king's successor was too young to take the throne. However, the council had proceeded to take advantage of their positions, stealing the wealth and lands of the people who trust them. Now, the ordinary citizenry had risen up and begun to fight back, before eventually requesting the aid of Siena. Seeing its chance, Siena answered with an affirmative and on April 7th, the republic declared open hostilities against Mantua and her allies of Brandenburg and Siena's old enemy Savoy. With Siena came England, Portugal, Castile, and Hungary who had also called Siena to help crush the resistance of the Kingdom of Georgia in their conquest of Bosnia. However, this war, first known as the Fourth War for Italy, would soon be known as the First War of the Alps as Austria stepped into the war to defend Mantua due to the little kingdom's membership in the HRE.

The opening moves by Siena was a blockading of ports that belonged to Savoy and that were Austria's only connection to the Mediterranean. Along with this, Stefano lead his army of fifteen thousand and occupied Mantua, breaking an army of three thousand and laying siege to the capital. In the north, England waged war by way of the sea, engaging an Austrian fleet of seventeen with twenty-seven ships in the Battle of the Coast of Holland. If England won, then all of Austria's ports would be blockaded and all overseas trade would end. Austria was also cut off from Siena due to Venice not allowing them military access, allowing Stefano to leave a force of three thousand to continue the Mantua siege while he chased the army of Savoy through the Alps without worry.

However, not all was well in the alliance. Hungary proved to be weak due to its battles with Bosnia and Georgia and soon, its army of thirteen thousand was drawn into battle against and defeated by a Austrian force of fifteen thousand in the Hungarian province of Sopron. Along with the failings of the Hungarian state, a force of nine thousand Germans from Brandenburg had slipped past the forces in Italy to lay siege to Ferrara. Soon, seven thousand troops from the Armata d'Africa were being for to be brought into the conflict.

Worst part yet was the entrance of Poland and Lithuania on the side of the enemy. Now, Hungary was almost certainly doomed and with it, Siena once the Austrians shifted focus to the republic. With this in mind, Stefano quickly arranged the surrender of Savoy. Thankfully, the destruction of their army had given Siena the leverage to enact trade restrictions to their enemy and for Savoy to return the province of Parma to Milan. With that, Stefano returned Mantua to continue the siege in the hope that he could break Mantua before Austria and Poland broke Hungary.

Then the greatest victory by Siena's ally England occurred when they landed twelve thousand troops in Polish lands. Defeating several small armies in by September, England brought Poland and Lithuania to their knees and secured their exit along with the release of the Ukraine under the protection of Siena and of Moldavia from its status as a vassal. The first act by the newly formed Kingdom of the Ukraine was to send documents for an alliance with Siena.

Before rejoining the siege of Mantua, Stefano took eleven thousand troops and forced the troops of Brandenburg into a battle in Venice's province of Verona. In five days, the enemy forces were crushed and Brandenburg effectively eliminated from the war effort. In addition, Hungarian forces had reorganized themselves and were moving to push out what armies of Austria that they could while dancing around the largest one of sixteen thousand.

On November 16th, the siege of Mantua ended in victory and Siena was ready to enter peace talks with Austria. The previously mentioned terms were handed to Poland and Savoy while Mantua was annexed to the republic. The rest of enemy states, most of whom were German and a part of the HRE, were left off without ramifications for their actions though Siena would one day repay in kind the HRE for all of its arrogance and hubris. On November 20th, the Fourth War for Italy and the First War of the Alps ended with many humbled Sieneses.

While glad that they achieved their goals, the merchants of Siena realized that they were wrong in believing that they were ready for a war with the HRE. Hungary could not stand against the Austrian, Polish, and Lithuanian invasions while excluding the blockades, Savoy, and Mantua, Siena had been ineffective in their military strategy. Like with Morocco before, lessons would be learned and applied and the thought of unifying Italy was put out of mind to instead concentrate on trade and colonization to build hidden power. The First War had been one of dissatisfaction, but the Second would be one of triumphant.

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** The lessons learned from this experience are simple. Have military access through Venice. Don't bother chasing Savoy through the Alps. Don't trust Hungary to hold in a fight. _Don't fuck with Austria and Poland early on._ Like Jesus Christ, they are nuts when put together.**

** I guess I'm waiting till the 1520s _at least_ before bothering with the other Italian states. Incidentally, I do know to prepare a blockading force against Poland now.**


	3. Colonies and Crusades (1465-1470)

_"They have canceled our agreement? Well then, let them face the swords of Poland and Lithuania for us." _-Doge Stefano of the Great Merchant Republic of Siena, upon word of Ukrainian betrayal.

After the First War of the Alps ended and the short-term threat to their sovereignty had elapsed, the Ukraine broke the alliance it had given to the Republic. While it angered many proud Italians, it was most likely for the best as the fledgling state would now brave the fire that Siena not too long had faced, that of being the smallest of your neighbors. Doge Stefano reasoned that if a single province republic could rise to the level of power and prestige, then a kingdom of a dozen provinces could handle itself unless it was run by an imbecile. Either way, in light of the recent war, the loss of the Ukraine did not weigh heavily on the minds of pragmatic merchants used to playing the diplomat's game in Europe.

Instead, what weighed on everyone's mind was what to do now that they had nowhere to expand. While Africa still held valuable land, they run the risk of angering the barbaric nations that ruled them. Memories of the Moroccan Colonial War weighed heavily on Stefano's mind, discouraging him from ordering more colonies on the dark continent. So the country was left in a conundrum, where to expand?

The answer came when reports arrived from the colonies. While relatively normal, there was one report by an official of Sierra Leone that spoke of an incident involving a fishing boat going missing for two weeks and then returning suddenly. The crew, underfed and dehydrated, spoke of a distant land across the ocean that showed no sign of human life.

A land isolated from European powers and empty of any apparent human life? Stefano, while cautious of making any moves too hastily, was still curious and began to collect funds for an expedition. Soon, an explorer named Sergio Quercegrossa had been hired, given the command of two barques named the _San Bernardino_ and the _Monteriggioni,_ and sent to find this new land. The expedition left Sierra Leone on December 1st.

While the expedition was away, the merchants began to again increase the number of barques within the fleet. Soon, the fleet would sail at sixty-nine ships strong, ready to rob the cities of Venice and Genoa of any feasibility of being fellow merchant republics. The republic could only hope that would be enough to push the other Italian states to integrate with Siena.

Finally, Sergio's expedition returned in February of 1466 and with fantastic news as well. There was another land across the sea that was sparsely inhabited, though there appeared to be some rather uncivilized men that lived amongst the tree of the jungle. As it appeared that it was relatively safe, Stefano organized an colonization mission to the new land led by a merchant going by the name Ser Nastagio Vespucci. Along with him went his wife Lisabetta and young son Amerigo, who, at age twenty, would take over leadership of the colonies established by his father once he died in 1474. Under Amerigo's guidance, the new lands would prosper and eventually be named America in honor of the great man who led them through dark times.

As this colonial effort went, Siena began to court a force that most of Europe, especially the Papacy and Siena's rival Venice, considered to be a bringer of destruction. This force was the Ottoman Empire, the successor to the dead Byzantine Empire. Originally a small Turkish state among many fighting over the former Sultanate of Rum in 1299, the Ottomans quickly rose to power over the other groups of Anatolia. Once their power was established, the Turks pushed west and encountered the decaying Byzantines. Eventually, war came to the empires, and in 1453, a funeral bell was rung for the Byzantines as Constantinople was captured and converted into Istanbul, the new capital of the Ottoman Empire.

While the rest of Europe rightly saw the Ottomans as a threat to Christendom, Stefano on the other hand understood that if treated well, the Ottomans would prove a powerful ally against the remaining Orthodox states in Russia and against the Catholic republics such as Venice and Genoa along with Austria and Savoy. Now, instead of directly fighting the Holy Roman Empire, Siena would break them economically and wait for discontent citizens to rise up. Siena would control the Mediterranean while England would control Holland and the Ottomans would control Hungary when it fell, leaving the Holy Roman Empire surrounded by powerful enemies ready to rush to the defense of their allies.

However, it would take some time to persuade the Ottomans to sign a treaty and there was a greater problem for the Republic at the moment. It appeared that Savoy and Milan had signed an mutual defense pact against the Republic to deter any expansion north. While the doge had not planned on making another play against them during the rest of his tenure, he understood that this coalition could pull in other states and perhaps Austria itself if the French remained quiet about expanding east. As such, Siena placed the northern provinces under close watch for spies and saboteurs, and, as a sign of good faith to the rest of Italy, moved the capital of the Republic from Siena to Roma proper on April 16th, 1466. Stefano made the claim that this would help unite the rest of Italy and Sicily in the idea that Siena was to be the new Roman Republic, but in actuality, it was a move to place the government in a safer position away from its enemies.

Finally, in August, the first colony in the New World named Pernambuco was founded. Along with a force of four thousand men, the colonists quickly forced the indigenous population under their control. A single battle against fifteen hundred natives was easily won and any thoughts of attacking Sienese holdings were abandoned. Instead, several native tribes looked at the colonists with wonder and respect, wishing they could join their fellow man in greatness. Soon, the colonists and natives began to intermingle, creating lasting bounds between the communities with natives acting as guides to the jungle and the colonists as tradesmen who sold food to the natives at a reduced price if there was a famine.

While this appeared odd to the Republic, the strangest thing was the sudden realization of their good relations with Morocco. It seemed Siena's policy of protecting other nations' merchants from pirates also extended to old enemies, as Morocco had grown from hating the Republic to viewing it as a healthy rival. In fact, several of Morocco's concerns, limiting Venice's power and keeping other European powers from colonizing Africa, coincided with Sienese interests, leading both nations to sign a military alliance together. While Stefano still held no love for the Moroccans, he understood that they could grow to be powerful allies.

The rest of 1466 and most of 1467 were quiet, with only Mantua's rise in status to being a province being anything worth notice. It was only in February of 1468 that Siena's attention was drawn back to Africa, when reports from Morocco showed that Algiers had declared war against them a few months before the treaty signing with the Republic. Based on the reports, Morocco was slowly losing the conflict, and Siena began to contemplate declaring war on Algiers.

Finally, elections for a new doge began. While many adored Stefano, they along with the doge himself knew he was not the right choice. The era of forceful reunification was over, and instead, an era of colonization had taken over with the discovery of the Americas. To replace himself, Stefano endorsed a diplomat by the name of Roberto Guerra. Roberto was a relative newcomer to the field, having only recently brought Morocco's positive opinion of Siena and subsequent troubles to light. However, Stefano trusted the man as an adviser and knew he would act as a good captain to steer the Republic from harsh waters. On March 12th, 1468, Roberto Guerra was elected by the esteemed merchants and nobles to the office of doge.

Roberto's term began quietly as the colonial efforts in Africa and America continued unhindered and the situation in North Africa was watched with curiosity and concern. The young Doge knew that his nation would soon be drawn into conflict with Algiers and began making preparations to defend Morocco. Soon, he ordered two new regiments of infantry and two new barque built under the guise of defending the American colonies now that valuable sugar was a value commodity from Pernambuco, bringing the total number of regiments and ships to thirty-four and seventy-one respectively.

However, Roberto's administration was wrecked with a scandal. The Doge's son Dominic, always hot-headed, had been a part of the Armata d'Africa. Apparently the boy had lost his head over a game of cards and had killed a man, his commanding officer no less. Roberto knew he could not protect his son from the charges, and so, the judgement of death was rendered upon the young Dominic. Brought back to Roma and hung there, the Doge had his body taken from its public display and given a proper burial before he himself withdrew for a time from the public's eye.

With that, 1468 ended and 1469 opened with news that lightened the Doge's depression. It seemed Savoy had left the coalition against the Republic and that Milan would soon too. The people of Siena breathed a sigh of relief as one of their problems was taken care of. Sadly though, a new problem hit in the form of roughly two hundred colonists leaving Pernambuco to return to Sierra Leone. Apparently, life was not going well in the new colony and as such, the efforts to bring it into the Republic as a province was set back. Soon after this, a Venetian diplomat was caught forging documents that would give them a claim to Ferrara. With haste, the eighteen thousand strong Armata d'Stefano marched to the province to deter any attempted conquests.

Finally, on May 3rd, the Republic knew it could not sit idly by while Morocco was attacked by the savages of Algiers. It issued a formal declaration of war against the Sultanate of Algiers, and with haste, the Armata d'Africa marched to aid Morocco in driving the Algerians back. While the Republic had planned to only aid its ally, it understood that it would need to present a compelling argument to prevent intervention by fellow Europeans. It found it in the fact that the Papacy had issued a call for a crusade in Algiers, making it a simple matter of declaring annexation of the province of Annaba and its ports a war goal to prevent the Austrians from attacking. Along with Republic came the fleets of Portugal and Castile with England promising to send troops once its troubles with Scotland were over, which the Republic doubted would happen anytime soon. Hungary was only asked to join because it would be rude not to ask.

However, the alliance with England was soon broken when they requested Siena join them in fighting Scotland. While normally the alliance would be honored, there was the problem of Scotland having involved their allies of France on the continent and Munster on the island of Ireland. Seeing a possible repeat of the First War of the Alps, Doge Roberto knew the people would not stand for such a war especially since they were already tied down with blockading and invading Algiers. With that, the Alliance of the Seas between England, Castile, and Siena was broken to be replaced with the New Latin Alliance of Portugal, Castile, and Siena. Again, Hungary was only there because it had already been there. Morocco wasn't included due to Cstille not seeing eye to eye with the Sultanate, though Siena did maintain its alliance with them.

However, the world was not at peace. The Ottomans' ally Crimea had begun a war of conquest against Genoa with both sides bringing their allies with them, Austria among the ones fighting for Genoa. Several of the states in the HRE were fighting each other as well, vying for political influence and land power with Cologne as the target of Austria and Saxony. It seemed Europe would not emerge from its petty wars for a long time to come as Siena focused on its crusade in defense of Morocco with Sienese men focusing on recapturing provinces and the Republic's Spanish and Portuguese allies invaded Algiers proper.

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** So yeah, because my war with Algiers is actually separate from the actual Moroccan war, it counts as a crusade. Interpret that as you will.**

** Also, I'm reconsidering my plans to ally with the Ottomans as they're getting heavily involved with the wars in Europe. As I said before, I'm not touching Austria for awhile if I'm able to and Venice fabricating claims has already got me spooked. Onto other matters, Hungary looks to be the fifteenth century equivalent to the real world Ottomans in the nineteenth and twentieth century. I'm going to have to cut them loose since they're already in a coalition with me and France against Austria so it wouldn't really change much.**

** The war in Algiers is going surprising better than I thought it would. Portugal and Castile wrecking havoc on the mainland is a welcomed surprise as they usually limit their involvement to naval operations and it frees my men up to recapture provinces in Morocco. My break-up with England wasn't caused by just the war with Scotland and France. It involved the fact that eventually, we're going to be colonial rivals and are already fighting over control of Europe, and plus, the distance between renders cooperation between our armies impossible. Also, their political weather is terrible, being the equivalent to acid and fire raining down on them. Morocco was a huge surprise in terms of being happy with me and I with them since I hadn't really been paying much attention to them, but hey, opportunities are meant to be taken.**

** I felt bad for Stefano, he was a great military leader and handled the First War of the Alps as best as he could. However, I knew he wouldn't be able to stay since he did order the war on Mantua and he hadn't done much in the realm of actual colonizing. Either way, from now, my main army in Italy will be the Armata d'Stefano in his honor.**


	4. Algeria and Hegemony (1470-1472)

_"This war is not a war. It is the reaction to an attack on one of our enemies turned friends. It is the natural riot control of the world where we maintain order and civility between all nations under our protection. This is not a war, it is simply a police attack." -Doge Robert Guerra when asked his personal thoughts on the Algerian crisis_

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Though the war with the Algerians continued throughout the year of 1470, many Sienese citizens grew worried due to the building flames of war in Europe. Though the Republic had not yet been called to war, there was concerns that Austria may one day invade the north to restore the . provinces of Modena, Ferrara, and Mantua to statehood. With that in mind, Doge Roberto began to make plans to remove the membership of the provinces from the HRE once the war with Algeria ended. He could only hope that the winds of war did not blow in favor of the enemy.

Finally, on November 13th of 1470, the capital province of Morocco, Fez, was recaptured from the enemy's hands. Now, the twelve thousand strong Armata d'Africa marched towards Algeirs in hope of glory and recognition for victory. Passing safely through the province of Tlemcen thanks to Castile's earlier capture of it, the army passed the Oran with little notice to instead catch what was believed to be the main Algerian force of nine thousand men in the capital of Al-Djazair.

While the war went continued, news came from France of a new monarch, King Henri the Third de Valois. A intelligent young man in the eyes of Doge, he was hoped to be friendlier to the Republic than the regency council that had ruled before. With the rise of the new king came the fall of the old year, and soon, it was New Year's Day, 1471.

A few days past and the hopes for the new King of France were crushed when he marched on the country of Lorraine in an attempt to conquer. Roberto now knew not to doubt the rashness of Henri and would be careful in any dealings with the monarch.

In Algiers, the Armata d'Africa sadly missed the Algerian forces at Al-Djazair, and instead, the army was ordered to lay siege to the capital province. It would take a long while for this war to end and the Doge hoped to end it sooner by capturing the crown jewel of the Sultanate. While this went on, Roberto began to look again the north though this time, it was not for worry of Austria's growing power. Instead, it was to the Swiss province of Lombardia which they had annexed a few years before from Milan. However, it seemed the people's culture clashed with that of the Swiss, causing talk of revolts to begin. The start of a plan to weaken the Republic's adversaries to the north formed in the Doge's mind, and soon, he sent funds to aid the rebels.

The year and the war dragged on, the siege of Al-Djazair did not appear to have an end so the commander of the Armata d'Africa, Gaspare da Porcari, decided to leave two thousand men to continue the siege while he lead the ten thousand others to face the Algerian forces. Setting out in October, Gaspare made his way for the city of Annaba, where the Algerian main army of nine thousand rested after defeating a Portuguese force of five thousand. Arriving on November 2nd, the two forces met in what would be known as the Battle of Cape Bon as Annaba's ports were Algiers's only access the waters of Cape Bon. Gaspare faced Prince Muhammad, future ruler of the Sultanate, and soon, the Sienese soldier gained the upper hand in the battle. Though the prince escaped capture, his army was destroyed on November 13th, which happened to be the same day that Al-Djazair fell.

With the defeat of the prince's troops, there was nothing to stop the NLA (New Latin Alliance) from occupying Algiers. The Republic personally focused on the capture of the city Annaba, their supposed goal in the ordeal while Castile and Portugal began spreading their troops through the remaining provinces. Soon Algiers would learn not to interfere with the allies of Siena.

While this went on, word finally spread to the people of the great powers of Europe that a new land had been found. As such, colonists from across the nations began to request the chance to join the Sienese holdings in Brazil. Seeing an opportunity to damage their enemies' reputations, Siena welcomed the men and women into the fold.

As the war dragged on in North Africa, Doge Roberto Guerra's term came to an end in 1472. As the March elections rolled around, there came only a few debates over if Roberto should be reelected. The last few years under him had been relatively profitable excluding the Algerian war which looked to be won within a few months. So, the Republic kept its leader in office, though it maintained a close eye on him in case he needed to be removed.

As the war dragged on, news from South America lightened the mood in the Republic. It seemed the colony of Bahia had become a full-fledged province on October 1st. With this came a boost to the nation's prestige as the other Europeans were embarrassed by not having colonies of their own. The Republic knew that it would soon face Europe in a clash for the new world, but for now, its attention was held by the battle to extinguish the flames of North Africa's arrogance.

Sadly, news came from Hispania of Aragonian arrogance. It appeared Aragon had entered into a mutual defense pact with Genoa to combat believed attempted by Siena to invade northern Italy and western Spain. The Republic would need to tread carefully in its dealings with the two nations.

Finally, the war in Algiers was effectively ended with the November 5th capture of the province of Annaba. Now, Siena would send terms to the Algerians, seeking control of the province and their trade routes. With their humbling by the Republic, Algiers would be left to the hounds of Morocco.

As 1472 drew to a close, the Republic rested its tired feet after a war that was spent mostly marching and watched the Alps descend into chaos. It seemed Lombardians patriots had risen up in their former holdings that were under the control of Genoa and Switzerland. Both exhausted from constantly fighting in various conflicts, it seemed neither nation could fight back against the inspired men and women. Soon, the rebels could possibly restore their land to its former glory. Though a little concerned of another power to the north, Siena saw a potential ally in the near future.

After a successful war effort and large scale naval buildup, Siena stood as the premier European trade and military power in the Mediterranean. Not even Venice could say it held power in its own ports as the Republic began establishing monopolies across the coastlines. The only foreseeable threat to the Sienese hegemony were the Ottomans, who maintained calm if chilled relations with the Republic. Time would see if a democracy and empire could remain neighbors without conflict as the thoughts of North African expansion came to the minds of both upstart nations.

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**Sorry it took so long for me to write this chapter. I planned to do it right after the last one but my game crashed in the middle of writing everything after the part about colonists joining Siena. I ended up having to erase a huge chunk of text, which disappointed me.**

** So let's see, there are a few updates I can think of. For one, I'm back in school again as a Junior in high school. Surprisingly, Spanish is easy for someone with a slight speech impediment and Pre-Cal is a pretty light homework class. May just be the teacher I have for it, she's pretty nice about homework due to understanding students having sports and clubs. JROTC is fine as well, I had to march in a parade last Saturday which was fine. We need to work on our marching, but we don't have another parade till December so we should be fine.**

** I'm reconsidering going into college ROTC and joining the Air Force. Apparently, my dad may be able to get me a scholarship that will pay for four years of college so I could just get it and get my degree in Computer Science. I'll have to chew on that for awhile, deciding what I want to do.**

** So yeah, Venice is basically a powerless state now as it lost Cyprus early on, never got Ragusa, and now doesn't even control its trade node. I doubt anyone except possibly the Ottomans would care if I conquered it.**


End file.
